“Wow, what is this view?!”
The sunset bathed the vast Angresia jungle surrounding the Magic Tower in deep crimson, as if it were set ablaze.
The Magic Tower was built in the heart of the Angresia forest, far from any residential area, to block outside intrusions. It was a structure planted right in the middle of untamed nature.
And this was the very top floor—the summit of the towering building—so the view outside the window was nothing short of breathtaking.
“Why did I never think to come up here at this time before? It’s clearly an incredible viewing spot!”
Now that I thought about it, this was the first time I’d come to the top floor outside of the scheduled times. Ethel had always visited the prince in the morning, at lunch, and late at night before bed.
I still vividly remembered the first night I came here, when the black sky looked like it was spilling over with stars.
“It’d be perfect if I could just enjoy a cup of drip coffee here.”
Hmm, is there even coffee in this world? I think I’ve only seen herbal tea.
I absentmindedly gazed at the slowly fading sunset.
For a moment, I felt like I was relaxing at a resort somewhere in Southeast Asia.
“Am I starting to miss my previous life?”
People from my old life floated through my mind—friends, and family. Someone must’ve discovered I was gone, right?
Back in that world, I didn’t have any family except for a mostly estranged father.
My grandmother, who had raised me, had passed away, and my mother died of illness not long after giving birth to me.
My grief-stricken father said I reminded him too much of my mother, and sent me off to live with my grandmother. Maybe because I had been rejected like that as a child, I lived over 30 years without forming any particularly close friendships either.
“That wasn’t even my fault.”
Now that I was in a different world, it was both a relief and a bit depressing that I didn’t have anyone to worry about back there.
I sighed.
Trying to shake off the gloom, I turned my gaze from the window to the prince lying in the center of the room.
“Prince, you look like a literal work of art again today.”
Regardless of my mood, the prince remained unmoving—like a masterpiece from the Renaissance. The fading light of the sunset cast new, mesmerizing colors on the glass coffin, different from usual.
I couldn’t help but gape at the stunning sight.
He was handsome. No, he was beautiful. No matter how many adjectives I piled on, none of them were enough. I might have to take back what I said about not falling for someone just because of their looks like a teenage girl.
“Must be thanks to preservation magic. Not even a strand of hair is out of place.”
He’d been lying there for over two years now, but it looked as though time had completely stopped inside the glass chamber. His neatly arranged black hair, smooth porcelain skin, healthy-looking lips and cheeks—
And even from a glance, his physique looked impressively toned.
Phew. What a stunning man.
Even just watching him sleep, he seemed to shine. I couldn’t even imagine what it would be like when he opened his eyes and came to life with those dazzling pupils.
“Yep, male leads should look like this!”
Seriously. His visuals were satisfying beyond expectation. I used to think imagining them through text was better, but wow, reality just crushed my imagination.
I let out a laugh that would’ve had people waving their hands at me in horror if they’d heard.
While I was busy admiring everything by myself, the sun continued to sink, and the prince remained perfectly still.
“But I guess since he’s asleep, he wouldn’t feel stuffy or uncomfortable, right?”
I muttered my unanswered question as I walked over to the glass coffin and knelt beside it. It was a weird thought. He’s asleep—of course he’s not uncomfortable.
I stared at his face in silence, then reached out and placed my hand on the surface of the glass.
“අවදි වන්න.”
A phrase in an unfamiliar language slipped from my lips, and a faint glow—barely noticeable if you weren’t looking closely—wrapped around the glass coffin.
It was the activation phrase for a defensive spell Ethel used to practice daily.
Though her magic power was naturally weak, it was said that magic could sometimes be unlocked further through effort. Ethel had trained tirelessly every day to become a proper mage.
“Ugh, seriously, not a single thing’s changed.”
Would’ve been nice to at least get some extra powers as a possession bonus. But no, the faint bluish glow at my fingertips was still barely there.
“Does this even work properly?”
Well, it wasn’t a dangerous spell, so I figured trying out something else wouldn’t hurt.
“උනුසුම් වීම.”
What was this one again…? A healing spell, maybe? I furrowed my brows, trying to dig through Ethel’s memories.
“Oh.”
A soft light glowed again. Okay, so I do have some magical power, at least.
“Hmm… What else was there?”
It wasn’t like I had any trouble speaking the language, but maybe because it wasn’t my native tongue, I couldn’t quite remember the exact activation phrases for the other spells Ethel used to practice.
Oh well. It’s not like I plan to live as a mage anyway.
“It gets dark really fast.”
Before I knew it, the moon had risen high in the sky. Since the window in the room was fairly large, the moonlight began to spread softly across the room.
Before long, the artifact-powered lights placed around the chamber turned on.
Instead of electricity, this world used magical stones to power lights.
They were quite expensive, but Duke Meliz had so much wealth that he could treat magic stones like pebbles.
Thanks to him, I could safely come to the top floor even at late hours.
“If he’d just install an elevator—or even an escalator—this would be perfect.”
Well, once the prince wakes up, I probably won’t need to climb all the way up here anymore, right?
I didn’t know the exact date, but I could tell the heroine’s appearance was drawing closer.
She’s probably going to be absolutely stunning too, right? Just thinking about it made me hum a little tune in excitement.
“Ugh, would you look at all this dust?”
I got up and dusted off my backside—dust clouded around me.
The space was enchanted with basic purification magic, but clearly, nothing beat a good human touch. It was like watching a robot vacuum miss the corners.
“Maybe I should clean a little later?”
If I do it, I’ll do it properly.
“No, I can’t! That’s exactly how I ended up being a pushover in my previous life!”
A flash of dread swept through me. Absolutely not happening in this life! Old habits die hard, it seemed—I almost threw myself into a work spiral again.
“Work-life balance only! I want evenings to myself, thank you very much!”
“Foolish prince. My power is not something a mere human like you can withstand.”
“You even have a talent for nonsense, it seems.”
He had been investigating a village ravaged by the apostles’ attack.
There had been a report that they had discovered a gate, suspected to be connected to the apostles’ base of operations.
Despite the knights’ concern that it could be a trap, Licht walked into the site himself. He believed it would be quicker for him to resolve the issue personally if anything went wrong.
Traps were nothing new to him.
Empress Elicia had always tried to obstruct every path Licht took.
But her interference was no real obstacle—Licht had already reached the pinnacle as a magic swordsman.
His powerful flame-based magic had manifested when he was barely walking.
He had earned the title of Archmage long ago.
Not only that, he could also wield a sword imbued with aura—he was a powerful swordsman as well.
Perhaps because of that, he had never once believed the apostles’ attacks could overwhelm him.
His only mistake was failing to anticipate that they would try something different this time.
As Licht approached the hideout entrance, Deus—the leader of the apostles—revealed himself.
The knights who had followed him were suddenly blocked by a rising barrier and could no longer reach his side.
Normally, Deus would’ve unleashed attack magic immediately, but this time, he was clearly guiding Licht to stay within a specific range.
By the time Licht realized this, the spell circle had already been activated.
A chilling energy wrapped around his body—and at the same moment, his consciousness slipped away.
That was Licht’s last memory.
Yes… he had fallen into a deep sleep.
Now, retracing his memories, Licht tried to assess his current condition.
I’m definitely still lying down.
The pounding in his head told him that his senses were beginning to return. Though he couldn’t see anything, at least he could feel pain.
No sight… no sound either…
He let out a long sigh.
Completely let my guard down.
He thought he’d been through enough to never fall for a trick like this again. And yet…
Gritting his teeth, Licht clenched his jaw.
